Pink Flufferoons.

12Dec09

The first time I made macaroons I did not know about feet. I did not know about aged egg whites, egg white powder, powdered food coloring, or the proper technique to obtain the signature glossy macaron shell. Really, I did not know what a ‘French Macaron’ was which, in retrospect, hinders the actual making of said cookie. Not that my initial result wasn’t tasty, it just didn’t look like the picture Martha had provided me. But I chalked that up to my domestic goddess inadequacies and went off to fall quarter at school blissfully unaware of what I was missing. And what I was missing were feet.

Feet, the signature of a real macaron. That perfect little base of puffed egg and sugar which elevates that macaron above other cookies in elegance and appearance. It’s a pretty cookie, let’s be honest, and after some research and enlightenment in the way of the oven, I returned home for winter break determined to perfect a macaron recipe that rose with feet for me.

Somewhere along the path of enlightenment, I learned that the Oreo, another beloved sandwich cookie, is the cookie of the United States and that the Macaron is the cookie of France. I was a little perturbed. The Oreo, while delicious in it’s own right, falls a little short of the classy Macaron which, if we’re being honest, is a little bit of a snobby cookie. So—logically—I decided to make a Macaron with the same amount of elegance, but at the same time with a little bit of an American twist.

Now, understand, this is just my long justification for using the all-American food-product known as Fluff. Seriously, I wasn’t just curious, I had a real reason for using Fluff. And the irony of a ‘Flufferoon’ is just a plus.

Did you whip the egg whites to stiff peaks? Since there’s no liquid besides food coloring, the batter shouldn’t have been runny at all…

I’m glad it tasted good though. The trick with macaroons is to repeat a recipe and tinker with it depending on the temperature of the ingredients, to the temperature of the day etc. Very finnicky. Try again, and good luck!